My Paper Heart
by leKarmaPolice
Summary: Emily develops an unusual bond with her rock star idol, Maxxie. Eventual Naomily, Keffy, and an odd love interest for Maxxie. First fic, please read. Sorry for the crappy summary.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first fanfic. So please take it easy on me. I liked the idea of having an Emily/Maxxie friendship fic when I read _The Potential To Explode _by abc-mno. They first caught my eye when they were briefly hinted in _Coin Laundry. _So here, I'm venturing into what could be a great friendship. Please leave a review. Much appreciated :p**

CHAPTER 1

How bad does it look for a band when their number one fan has stopped paying for concert tickets? Well she didn't pay, I guess. She was still there though. I have to admit, I started looking for her among the crowd of adoring fans. Ha I'm talking like a "rock star" more and more everyday. Tony did say that it will get to me one day and I'm going to finally kick it up and stop being a "funsponge." I seriously don't know where he got that, but I guess we just have to be thankful for that. It is because of his clever, witty words that make our songs quite catchy. Hmm…that girl…I wonder where she is…

I suppose I should properly introduce myself. My name is Maxxie Oliver, "The MAXXster"—according to my FaceBook page and Twitter account, and I was born and raised in Bristol. I grew up with my bandmates and closest friends. I had the time of my life growing up in a quiet sleepy town like Bristol—even if it is dubbed as the "house-party capital of Britain." I am openly gay, and damn proud of that. Tony loves milking that fact too. He does not miss a chance to snap a provocative picture of me and post it up on the site, immediately earning thousands or maybe millions of hits, and of course a few more fans jumping in the wagon. It's kind of a dirty scheme, but hey it works. Any publicity is good publicity…right? Well anyway more stuff about me: I play bass guitar for the band. I also play acoustic and keyboard, but that's just for me, a form of relaxation. I never considered myself a "rock star." I mean sure I've played in a couple of stadiums and everyone screams my name, but nah never felt that I'm actually a rock star before. So I think I'm more grounded than my band mates. And that's what makes me different.

Now it's time for you to meet my band. First up is our charming front man, guitarist, and lyricist. His name's Tony Stonem. He's not really the nicest person around. Well he could be a proper dickhead sometimes. But sometimes I think that's how he reels people in, and usually it works. He's a bit like Brandon Flowers from the Killers (one of my favorite bands, but keep that a secret) in my opinion, except he would hate it if he knew I said that. So that could also be our little secret, alright? Good. Okay, and then there's Chris Miles, our perpetually drugged up drummer. He's always on something so it's good for us because he just channels his drug-induced energy into his sick drumming. He's toned the drugs down a bit though, thanks to his girlfriend Jal—also one of our childhood buddies, but he still keeps the drumming very tight. My best bud Anwar plays the lead guitar for us. Although honestly, he's not really the best at it and he could work on tightening his skills a bit. I think he's the weak link in the band. Sid sometimes joins us on stage and plays the guitar, too. He could relieve Anwar from some heavy riffs that he couldn't really get. But if he isn't on stage with us, he's backstage handling everything else. I'd like to call him our band manager, out of respect. Tony calls him a roadie. But we work. Yeah, we're all good together.

Okay back to that fan I was talking about earlier. Well the first time I really saw her was when we did an underground club gig for Tony's friend's club opening. We were becoming a pretty known name throughout Britain so we decided we needed to play a small set in our hometown before heading out on tour. Well the boys couldn't wait for the tour so right after the gig, they headed out to the hotel near the airport. I wasn't ready to leave yet so I decided to hang around the club after. It was a decent scene, good location, good vibe, lots of fit boys around.

Well I was coming out of the loo when this small, beautiful young lady came out of the ladies' room, she was obviously crying. Her mascara was running and her eyes were red and puffy. I asked her what was wrong and when she looked at me, I swear her eyes almost bugged out of her head. It was the cutest thing ever. Her eyes are a beautiful shade of cocoa brown and it just screamed sincerity. Her hair was a dazzling shade of cherry red, but it betrayingly hid her beautiful eyes. She started sobbing harder so I put my arm around her and lead her to the bar. I ordered her a drink as an attempt to calm her down. After she stopped crying, she shyly looked up at me and whispered, "I missed your set." My heart just sank for this adorable little sweetheart. I just also noticed that she was wearing a homemade Aimless College shirt (that's our band name, by the way. Not my idea, I promise). That was waaay too sweet.

I pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear, "Meet me in the bathroom in a sec." She grew wide-eyed and turned beet red. It seems like her breath was caught in her chest. I winked at her as I got up and headed out. I turned back for a sec and called out to her, "Just trust me. I'll see you in there, yeah?" She just nodded frantically and headed for the restrooms.

I walked out to the van where the boys left all our gear in, they thought I needed a ride home. Guess they didn't think I'd be drinking tonight. Always leave it to those guys to underestimate me. Well anyway, I grabbed my acoustic from the back and started to head back. I was nervous, to be honest. I never played on my own in front of anybody, well besides my dog Taz. Hmm I miss Taz…

Alright, so I march back into the club, heading straight to the bathroom. I knocked on the door slowly and hear that quiet voice stutter out "y-yes?"

"It's me. Let me in."

"…Okay."

The door clicks open. I grab the handle and look around before I enter, just to make sure no one saw. Everyone was too busy dancing to their own boom boom to notice. Good.

I head inside to find my little redhead nervously fidgeting with her cuffs in the side, looks nervously up at me and gives me a mousy little smile. It was utterly adorable.

Noticing that she's nervously glancing to the other side of the room, I follow her gaze to see another girl leaning on the wall, smoking a fag. The girl's long, flowing brunette hair cascades over her face and her smoky eyes. She brushes her hair away from her face and I could see her completely now, and it hits me.

"Effy? Tony's sister, right?"

"Hello, Maxxie."

I was surprised to see her there. I thought she went away with her mother after Tony left home. She never used to speak, so the sound of her voice shocked me a bit. I could sense a hint of Tony's type of mischief in her voice. I turn back to the small girl perched on the other side of the room.

"Because you missed the last set we're doing here before we leave for the tour, and because I can see that you truly love our band, this is me showing you that we love you back. I'm going to give you a special show. "

She swallows hard once I said that. I laugh heartily at what she might be thinking. I quickly tap my guitar case and wink at her. A wide grin breaks on her face and I swear I could see tears forming in her eyes.

"Feel free to capture this moment in your mobile, hun. I give you the permission."

She nods and her smile grows, a cute little dimple appearing in her cheek. I spot a stool at the corner by the mirror. This really weirds me out—the image of someone just going potty then another person just uhh…watching. But right now I quietly thank the little weirdo who watches as people piss as I sit myself down on the stool.

I carefully place my guitar on my knee and take a deep breath. I was really nervous, but as I start the song with a few plucks of the strings, it starts to become more natural to me. I remember Tony's "Performing 101" lesson for us. Not that, you know, I know anything about performing. I'm just a veteran dancer and the fucking lead in our high school play, but who remembers right? Yep.

1) Make sure you make eye contact with your audience. Make sure they know that you're playing for them.

2) If looking directly at your audience wrecks your nerves a bit, look down at your instrument. This makes you look vulnerable since it looks like you're nervous and you're making sure you're playing it right. Modesty, he said. Pfft.

3) Try to get the audience into the song, also. Make a "connection" or something. Like you're a team and you cannot do this alone.

4) "Look like you're having fun, for fucks sakes. We don't want to look like a bunch of fucking vegetables just swaying away there up on the stage."

Thanks, Tone. Such a buddy.

_We'll write a song_

_That turns out the lights _

_When both boy and girl start suddenly shaking inside_

_Don't waste your time_

_Speed up your breathing_

_Just close your eyes_

_We'll hope it's not for nothing at all_

I proceed to strum steadily and look up at my audience. She's smiling widely, so I know that she's a fan of this particular song. Good.

The door then slams open and it startles me a bit. A shriek is heard and people started pouring in the suddenly too-small bathroom. I continue the song like the artist I am.

_Soft kiss and wine_

_What a pretty friend of mine_

_We're finally intertwined_

_Nervous and shy _

_For the moment _

_We will come alive tonight_

_Secret Valentine_

I guess I'm not doing so bad since everyone seems to be smiling and pulling out their phones and recording this…uhh session, I guess you'd call it. I look around for my little admirer but it seems that she was swallowed by the crowd. I could no longer see her adoring eyes and her cherry red hair. I hope she's still here though. This was for her.

I finished up the song and chatted away with some other fans. They were all lovely but I couldn't help myself from scanning the room every five seconds for that little girl. Alas, she was nowhere to be found.

As I was getting myself a bottle of water from the bar, with _compliments_ from the bartender himself, I spotted Little Red heading out the door. She was already almost out and it looks like she was being pulled. She stole one last glance in my direction and beamed at me. I waved at her but she was already out the club. I grabbed my guitar and sighed in relief. But then my stomach dropped in a painful realization-

FUCK! I didn't even get her sodding name!

**A/N: How'd I do? Clicky-clicky the button right below... please...?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wanted to let you guys know why I chose "Secret Valentine" for Maxxie's song (for those of you who are interested, for others...just read on then). I saw a video of Travis from We The Kings singing in the bathroom in a club and thought that it was pretty odd. But I read the description and it said that the girls who were there missed their show, and so without another word Travis just got his guitar and started playing for them. I thought that was one of the sweetest things an artist could do. So this was a little salute for Travis I guess. The video's probably still on YouTube if you're curious. "We The Kings acoustic bathroom sesh." I think that's what it's called. So yeah...**

**And I'm not so sure about this chapter...So sorry...Hope you guys don't get that bored...It's a bit long too...**

**This is Emily's recollection of that first night...**

CHAPTER 2

My mind could not comprehend what was happening. This night has been a total mindfuck to me. But it was a good type of mindfuck. Hmm…mindfuck. Sounds like something they could write a song about…

Anyway, as I stroll down the street with my twin sister Katie and Effy, I begin to process how tonight's happenings came to play.

Katie was taking too goddamn long getting ready to head out to the new club, claiming that "I can't go out there looking like a fucking knob like you!" She motions to my outfit. I stare down at myself—I actually thought I looked quite nice going out tonight. Trusty old vans, black skirt with yellow leggings, a plain white tank top with my denim jacket over it—now I feel fucking insecure. Thanks a lot Katie.

After another half hour of Katie trying on every variety of leopard print she has in that closet, she finally decided on a short black dress and heels. What the fuck? That's it? Wasted a whole fucking hour for just that simple outfit? God she infuriates me sometimes.

We rush to the club, me practically sprinting there, clutching the homemade shirt I made, with the band's name printed on the front and a made up logo I designed beneath it. Katie couldn't go any faster than a brisk walk, her heels preventing her from keeping up. We got there and immediately spot Effy at the bar. I'm surprised she isn't off her tits yet, usually she'd be monumentally fucked up by now. So I bounce to where Effy was, obviously excited to watch my favorite band play live. She sees me and her face drops. Oh shit.

"What took you guys so long?"

"Katie—"

"Ah okay." She interrupts.

"Hey babes." Katie crosses over me to hug Effy. Effy keeps her eyes on me and offers me a sad smile. Here it comes.

"They just left about ten minutes ago. I asked Tony if they could stay for a while, but said he had some business to take care of. Business that came in a tight shirt with double-D boobs practically bursting out of them. Sorry Em."

I was crushed. I knew that was the last gig they play before leaving for a tour. Although I was glad for their success, I was completely devastated that I missed a chance meeting with my favorite band. I made this shirt to show them for fuck sakes.

"That's okay," I lied. "Maybe next time then. Oh hey Katie, you're still on Effy." I stated emotionless.

"Mhmm." Katie just simply nods her head on Effy's neck. I head for the bathroom to splash my face with water.

Glad to see that there wasn't a queue for the loo, I decided to take my sweet time in there. I decided to put on the shirt I made, thinking "What the hell, might as well..." I look at the mirror and admire my handiwork. I think I did the band's awesomeness some justice with this shirt. Only too bad that they weren't able to see it. I sigh.

I know it may seem like I'm obsessing or overreacting about this whole situation, but let me make it clear. I simply ADORE Maxxie—he's the bass player for the band Aimless College, and I'm really in to them at the moment. He's sweet, wicked talented, and happily outed. Let's just say that he's everything I am not and everything I want to be. I wish I could have an ounce of his talent and maybe that'll give way to having confidence too. I feel like I'm always swallowed up by Katie's presence. If I had some talent like Maxxie maybe I could show that off and break out of Katie's shadow…then maybe she'll finally look at me…

Anway, so I came out of the bathroom, wiping away some stray tears from my cheeks when that angelic voice approached my ears.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

My mouth probably opened and closed a million times but no sound came out. Loser. Talk goddammit! His eyes were just filled with concern. He was still waiting for an answer, but my heart just contracted to the size of a football and threatened to explode in my chest. I couldn't quite form coherent sentences in my head; he obviously noticed this and led me to the bar and offered me a drink of water.

Then he did the most amazing thing anyone could ever do for anybody else, and I'm not exaggerating here. After I told him that I was upset because I missed their show, he told me to meet him in the bathroom in a sec. I wasn't really expecting anything like that but he already headed out before I could protest. I guess my discomfort was quite obvious though because he turned back and smiled cheekily and said, "Just trust me. I'll see you in there, yeah?"

I nodded furiously and watched him slip out of the club. Shit. What was going to happen? Am I going to be just another groupie that hooks up with them in bathroom stalls? Wait, he's gay though. Maybe he just wants to experiment for tonight…Should I tell him that I'm gay too before anything happens…? Fuck. I need backup.

I make my way through the crowd to my sister and Effy. Looks like they just got back from dancing because they were sweaty and a bit doozy. I grab Effy's arm and pulled her to the side, with a hilariously tipsy Katie in tow.

"Maxxie wants to see me in the bathroom."

"Maxxie? From Tony's band, Maxxie?"

"Yeah. He's still here."

"Oh. Well he's a good guy. You'll be okay." She tries to leave and reach around me for Katie but I stop her.

"What do you think he'll do?" I asked nervously. She sighs.

"Look, are you really going to question what's happening right now? Sounds like this is a gift the gods have in store for you, Em. But if you're really scared about this, then I suppose I could come with you. You're really cutting in to my fun time with Katie."

We both look over at Katie who managed to stumble back into the dance floor. She's incredibly unstable and she's dancing like our friend Pandora. Hands flying everywhere, feet stumbling over each other, hanging on to every body she comes in contact with. Yep, could definitely be proud to say that she's my twin sister. Her eyes are a bit droopy and looking a bit lazy and her mouth is slightly open, with her tongue resting to the side. Very attractive.

Effy simply smirks and leads me to the bathroom. We stand there awkwardly for a few moments then we hear someone knocking on the door. I already know who it is but to make sure, I choked out, "y-yes?"

"It's me. Let me in."

I let him in. What happened minutes after that, I still could not fully comprehend. My charming hero sang me a song. A song. Just for me. Well at least it was until someone caught wind of what was happening and a wave of people just surged in the bathroom. I was engulfed by the mass of people in mere seconds. Damn his popularity. Damn his sweet, velvety voice. Damn his smooth fretwork. Why do people have to love him so much? But guess I can't blame it all on him. Damn my small stature. I'm on my tippy toes but I still can't seem to get a good view of him finishing up the song. Well I guess it's alright, since this started because of me. I'll just take what was given to me. I can just enjoy hearing him sing.

Next thing I know, I'm being pulled out of the bathroom by a clearly flustered Katie.

"Emsy…home. Now." She grunts. She seems to be doing this odd shuffle. I realize that it's Katie's pee pee dance. She has about thirty seconds before she bursts. She was never good at holding it in. She's never good at holding _anything _in.

I spot Effy behind Katie, resting her hand on Katie's lower back for support. I nod reluctantly and take another glance back to the bathroom.

"Will you wait a sec? Maxxie might be done in any second; I just want to thank him for that song."

"Unless you have a cup that I can pee in, I suggest we get a move on."

I grab my half-full water bottle that Maxxie bought for me and hand it to Katie. She stares down at the bottle in my hand and shoots me a disgusted glare.

"You can't be fucking serious. Let's go Ems."

Before I could protest, she already clamps onto my cuffs and drags me out the door. Effy looks at me apologetically but offers me a small, sincere smile that lets me know that she has something planned. I realize that Effy has her connections and that this might not be the only time I'll get to see Maxxie. Once again, I'll just take what is given and be grateful for it. Can't wait for what Effy has in store…She's always been a sneaky one. But she never really disappoints.

I try to hold up some form of resistance against Katie's vice grip on my cuff and steal one last look back to the club. I spot Maxxie leaning at the bar, I smile my biggest smile at him. I think he saw me but I didn't have the chance to make sure. I couldn't compete with Katie's strength. Besides just being the obviously dominant one, there's really no way to stop a determined Katie Fitch. Especially when she's…err…struggling, I guess.

So here we are, walking in the streets at night. I think I've never been this happy strolling down these littered and clammy streets. I've just been given a god sent miracle. Maxxie knows I exist. He played a song for me. My smile could not get any wider.

"What's so great about Maxxie, anyway?" Katie asks, emerging from a bush.

"Katie wha—? Did you—? Ugh Katie, that's disgusting!" Katie just rolls her eyes at me.

"Well who was the one who suggested me to piss in a fucking water bottle just minutes ago? Fucks sakes I don't even know if I can do that…Or how…"

"You guys are hilarious." Effy muses. Katie just shakes her head and returns to Effy's side. Effy instantly wraps her arm around Katie's waist. Katie then turns back to me.

"Well go on then. What makes this Maxxie so special? Or are you just obligated to like him because he's gay like you?"

"Well, no. I don't know…Maxxie's just…Maxxie. He's my idol, I guess. I want to be like him someday." I realize I sound like really corny right now, but I feel like I just needed to say that out loud. Considering what just happened tonight, I feel like this is the least I could do to say "thank you" or something like that.

Katie snorts and says, "Hun, sorry to burst your bubble, but you can wish on that fucking shooting star however many times you want, but you will never be able to grow a dick."

Effy laughs. "Unless you buy it at Anne Summer's."

I couldn't believe these two drunks stumbling all over the place. But I couldn't help but go along with their chuckles.

"Not in that way, cow. Oh you know what I mean."

We get to our door and Effy places a gentle kiss on top of Katie's head. She then eyes me and pulls me in for a hug. I hug her back and feel her slip something into my jacket pocket.

"This is a gift. Tony did feel bad for having to leave early, so he gave me these to give to you. Dunno how you're going to use them, but here you go."

With that she turns and leaves. I slip my hand into my pocket to feel a Ziploc bag with some paper in it. Assuming it was autographs from the band, I quickly pulled it out. My face falls when I see it's just a blank white envelope. The bag reeks of something, and I can't help but make a face when I feel that it's sort of sticky. I pull out the envelope from the bag and peer inside. I think my stomach dropped and my eyes bugged out for the second time that night. My heart sank into the pit of my stomach and the only way to get it back up to my chest was to jump up and down. So I did. Like a bunny on E. I kept my mouth shut coz I'm afraid that if I let any sound out, it will deafen the entire city. So I just scurry merrily up to our room and jumped into bed, gripping the white envelope as close to my chest as possible.

Katie comes back from the bathroom in just a towel. She eyes me curiously.

"What's going on with you?"

I beam at her. "Tickets! I've got fucking tickets to every one of their shows on the tour!"

**Had to throw little Emsy a bone. Sorry for ending it like that. Don't wanna make it THAT long and cause strained eyes...**

**Please review**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: It's been a while eh? **

**Thanks for all the reviews and alerts! Really awesome people out there. Please keep it coming.**

**Here's a dancing Maxxie Shira asked for. Hope I didn't disappoint...completely. **

**Alright on to the story. And I don't own Skins.**

Chapter 3

"What? You never said anything about Baja… "

Maxxie growled at the phone, staring disbelievingly at the name flashing on the screen. He was looking forward to a whole day of release after the tiring but incredible tour they just came back from. He was planning to spend the afternoon in his friend's studio, dancing all his stress away. His plans however came crashing down when he found out that the owner of the studio and his long time friend Kelly had left for vacation.

So Maxxie stands in the sidewalk, hangs up on the useless conversation and contemplates on what his next move would be. He thinks about dancing in the roof of his flat, but decided against it after remembering the creepy pictures that he received days after. Obviously someone has been watching him, and right now he doesn't need that.

He looks pleadingly to the skies, asking for some sort of guidance or sign of what his next move should be. Maxxie just really needs to unwind and relax, but with what's happening right now, relaxation seems so far-fetched. He rings Anwar to see if he wants to spend the afternoon together.

A grunt greets him on the fourth ring.

"Anwar, mate! Let's go out for some drinks, yeah? My treat."

"Uhh nah, man. I've got some catching up to do…"

"Oh. With who? Didn't know you were seeing someone…" Maxxie sighs

"Well…with sleep actually. I'm way beat, man. Tomorrow though. I'm sure your birthday bash will be wicked, right?"

"I already told you I want it to be a stay-in movie night right?"

"Oh. Well I'll bring the booze then. Later Max."

Maxxie couldn't get in another word when the call abruptly ends. He sighs once more and scrolls through his contacts to find someone who might be able to help him. He stops at an unfamiliar name. He only knows this person because of their mutual friends but the few times that they were together proved that he was a party maniac. Boring was not in his vocabulary. Maxxie hesitantly presses the green button and brings his phone up to his ear.

"'Lo? Who's this?"

"Uhh hey Cook? It's Maxxie. I'm a friend of Tony's." There was a slight pause as the boy obviously tries to put pieces together and remember. After a while, his booming voice comes back on the phone.

"Oh yeah Maxxster! How's it going gayboy? I heard the tour was fucking mint, yeah?"

"Yeah yeah it was. Hey listen, you still work at Fishponds Tavern?"

"Yes I do. Uncle Keith actually just promoted me." Cook states in a matter-of-fact like tone. "Well we're actually closed right now. It's just me here cleaning up. But if you feel like stopping by then maybe it'll be an excuse for me to break out some pints for myself too. So what about it?"

Maxxie laughs at Cook's obvious intentions but realizes fuck it he has nothing better to do anyway.

"Sure Cook. I'll come by. Hey does the pub have a place where…uhh…you can like…dance?"

The boy on the other line hesitates once more, chuckles a little.

"You mean like a stage or summat? 'Coz this here's just a dingy old pub mate, not really your theatre type shit."

"No I just meant like a big free space or something. Just to dance on…?"

"Oh well we can clear the tables and chairs or something like that. We have a jukebox too if you'd wanna use that."

"Ha that's perfect Cook. Thanks. I'll be there soon."

Cook howls on the other line. Maxxie hears glasses already being taken out. _Damn that boy really wants a drink_, he thinks. Maxxie breathes out a sigh of relief and starts heading out to the pub. He stops in front of a sweets shop and decides to bring a cake as a thank you for Cook. He orders a black forest cake and waits at a table next to the window, glancing at the merry strollers passing by. He was soon snapped out of his trance by a husky, timid "Hi."

He glances up towards the owner of the voice and spots the small redhead from the club before. She was sporting a cute china-doll smile and a blue jumper that made her look even more petite and contrasted beautifully with her cherry red hair.

"Hey! It's you! From the bathroom club, right? Ha you know I never actually got your name…"

"Oh it's Emily. I'm Emily." She offers her hand shyly. _Still the same, _Maxxie thinks.

"Emily. Nice to finally officially meet you. I'm Maxxie." Maxxie takes Emily's hand and shakes it excitedly.

"Of course, I know who you are." Emily blushes. Maxxie then notices the guitar bag she was clutching behind her.

"Oh, you play?" Maxxie points at the guitar. Emily blushes some more, her face slowly matching the hue of her hair.

"Uhh actually I—"

"Maxxie! Your cake's ready!" The lady at the counter bellowed, interrupting Emily's explanation.

"Thanks Trix." Maxxie smiles then look apologetically towards Emily. Then an idea hits him.

"Hey you doing anything?"

"Like right now? Uhh no not really."

"Great! Come with me 'kay? My friends bailed on me today, but if you come then that should make up for it. What do you say?"

"Sure, yeah. Where are we going?"

"Fishponds Tavern. It's just down the street, I think. Lemme go get the cake, yeah? Grab your guitar. Maybe you can play for me later." Maxxie teased her, poking her side. Emily smiles and nods as she let Maxxie drag her to the beat down old pub she faintly remembers going to some time in her life.

"MAXXSTER! What took you so long, mate? I already drank your pint. Lemme get you 'nother one. And I already cleared out the tables. Ready for your dancing session or summat." Cook bellows animatedly, bouncing up and down.

"Cheers Cookie. Oh got you something." Maxxie hands Cook the cake.

"Black forest? Fuck yeah! Oh? Who's this now?" Cook peers around Maxxie to take a good look at the shy little redhead. "Emilio man is that you?" Emily nods shyly. She was never close to Cook, only hung around him when the rest of their friends were there, mainly because of Effy. If Effy's there, then Katie's nearby. And because Katie's there, Emily's there lurking somewhere.

"Yeah. And she's going to be my dance partner for the day." Maxxie proudly beams, taking Emily's hand and spinning her.

"Wait, what? Uhh I don't really dance…" Emily tries to wriggle away.

"Well you know how to walk right? If you can walk then you can dance. But we'll loosen you up with some drinks first. Make it a bit easy for you. Cook?"

"No way, gayboy. I'm not nearly buzzed enough to dance like that, man."

"No Cook I meant can we get some drinks?" The blond chuckles, spotting Cook already feasting on the cake. "Oh. Right." Cook stalks towards the counter and serves up some pints.

"So Emily," Maxxie starts, seeing that Emily has slightly loosened up thanks to a couple of drinks but still undeniably shy. "You were telling me about your guitar. Wanna continue?"

Emily blushes more and clears her throat. She intends to start talking, but after one more chug of her beer.

"Well, that night when you sang in the bathroom of that club, my friend Effy gave me tickets to all your shows on your tour. So I was able to watch most of them. They were all amazing, by the way."

"So…most?" Maxxie took a sip, eyeing Emily carefully.

"Yeah, I was getting there. The last two shows you guys were playing were a bit far from home. Well they kinda all were but those more than the others, so I couldn't make it to those shows. Katie told me I might as well sell the tickets, make myself some money, you know? So I got someone to buy them and collected enough money to buy this."

Emily gestures to padded guitar case settled next to her. She carefully unzips it and takes out the small classical cutaway guitar. It looks worn down and vintage, definitely has a lot of character. The small size perfect for little Emily and her little fingers.

"You know how to play? Give it a go then!"

Maxxie urged Emily, poking her ribs and arms every so often. Pinching her cheeks and flicking her hair. The exasperated lass finally give up. She nestles the guitar on her knee and begins strumming an oddly familiar song. Maxxie perks up and points accusingly at Emily and her guitar.

"Is that…? You're serious?" Emily laughs on and nods.

"Yep. Decided this should be the first song I learn properly. Seems only fitting, I think."

Emily then proceeds to sing the exact same song Maxxie sang for her in the bathroom of that club the night they met. The redhead's raspy rendition of the song was undeniably impressive. The song ends all too soon and the stunned blond boy jumps off his stool and engulfs the blushing girl in a hug and Emily finds herself hugging her idol back.

"You like it then?" Emily questions excitedly.

Maxxie hesitates and whispers in her ear, "That was for the effort."

Emily jaw drops in shock and all the color was drained from her face, "Was it _that _bad?"

Maxxie erupts in laughter and shakes his head, shaking Emily's shoulders all the while. "It was really good, Em. Way better than me for sure. It was just like…raw and passionate, you know what I mean?" A face splitting grin breaks out on Emily's face. Maxxie takes this opportunity to pull Emily onto the spacious center of the pub and spin her once again.

"Alright, time to dance _Emilio man!_" He says impressively attempting to sound like Cook. He pulls out his iHome and iPod from his bag and plugs it in, tossing Emily an extra pair of track pants. "You can't really dance in that skirt, Em. Take it and change in the bathroom alright?"

Emily thinks about arguing but decides against it, just allowing things to go on as they are. She comes out of the bathroom in track pants that had to be folded five times to suit her properly. Her jumper was discarded, leaving her in a grey tank top. Her hair tied up in a messy ponytail.

"Alright then, looks like you're ready. Come on then." Maxxie offers his hand and Emily shyly takes it.

"Well like I said I don't really dance…"

"S'okay, Emily. Nothing serious. I just need to move a bit, and it's really no fun when you have to move alone. We're just going to dance to whatever, 'kay?"

Maxxie pushes play on his iPod and a jaunty tune starts playing, something you really don't expect someone to be dancing to but Maxxie has already started hopping on the balls of his feet and pulling and spinning Emily along with him. The redhead laughs along and moves freely with Maxxie, often twirling on the balls of her feet and swaying along as the veteran dancer glides and dances circles around her.

Maxxie would often show the girl some moves and Emily would then try to copy them, not doing so bad herself. He shows her how to pirouette and leap properly, Emily hesitating a bit before trying them out. She surprises even herself when she found out she can actually do them quite well. Maxxie stands proudly at the side, clapping and cheering on as Emily works out a routine.

Proud and curious about her newfound talent, Emily asks Maxxie to teach her some more moves that she would have fun with. Maxxie obliges and shows her how to do a headstand and kick steps, even teaching Emily how to shuffle.

Everything became light and relaxed, the two of them laughing along and working up some sort of routine to the random song currently blasting. Emily was never one to enjoy dancing on its own, but finds herself contributing more and more to the dance they're making up. She enjoyed the light nonsense. She even enjoyed it when Cook joins in for a while. Surprisingly, Cook was an excellent dancer, shaking his ass expertly and breaking out some new moves as well.

Before she even notices the time, the sun had already set and Cook announces that the tables have to be set up since the pub would be opening for business soon. Maxxie offers to walk her home. The walk was filled with random laughs and pointless talk, but nothing could be better. They stop in front of Emily's door and Maxxie holds out his phone towards her. Emily takes it without a second thought and enters her number in it.

"Why don't you come over tomorrow? Bring that guitar of yours. Sing me a little birthday song, yeah?"

"It's your birthday tomorrow?"

"Hmm…not a very good fan are you?" Maxxie teased a blushing Emily poking her button nose. Emily laughs and nods.

"Well seeing that everyone's going to be there anyway, thought you might wanna come with. I know Effy will be there so it won't be awkward."

"Oh well if Eff's going to be there then my sister will be there too. So I'm probably getting dragged there anyway."

"Well don't say it like that now. I'm personally inviting you, 'kay? You can meet the rest of the band. Oh and my sister."

Emily looks puzzled. She has been on a couple of fan sites and not once did they mention anything about Maxxie having a sibling. They've mentioned Effy and Anwar's sisters, but none for Maxxie.

"I didn't know you have a sister."

"Well she's not really my sister _sister, _you know? But we're very close. She's an only child, too and a friend of Effy's. She goes to your school actually. She's a bit twatty sometimes though, definitely got a mouth on her. Oh and we have matching blonde hair anyway. Easy lie to tell, really."

Emily's got an idea who Maxxie was talking about, secretly wishing she was right and Maxxie's not just pulling her leg.

"Ha alright count me in." She grins and Maxxie steps over to give her a hug.

"Thanks for today, Em. I had fun. I'll see you tomorrow! And bring my bottoms, yeah? I need those pants. I'll text you the details later."

Emily watches as Maxxie turns the corner and disappears. She realizes she's still wearing a goofy grin as she walks in her room. If her intuitions are correct, tomorrow's going to be an eventful day.

**Next Chapter: a Naomtrance! ;p**


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